City councilman elected to CML executive board

Steamboat Springs  His colleagues on Steamboat Springs City Council like to tease Councilman Ken Brenner about his apparently insatiable appetite for meetings. Now, Brenner has found a couple of new reasons to attend community and government meetings.Brenner, who was re-elected to City Council last November, was recently elected to the executive board of the Colorado Municipal League. He was also chosen to head a new coordinating committee for 12 child-care pilot programs around Colorado. Steamboat is one of the participants in the pilot program.Brenner will be among nine members of the CML executive board. In that role, he will help guide the activities of 15 staff members. Two main roles of the CML are providing education and resources for cities of all sizes statewide. But its primary role is lobbying the state Legislature on behalf of issues that are important to cities."This will be a chance to learn a lot from some very experienced people," Brenner said.He will be among three board members who represent cities with populations ranging in size from 6,500 up to 65,000. He added that he had to campaign against three incumbent mayors to gain his seat on the board. The election was held at the CML's statewide conference in Grand Junction June 15. Brenner said each city, whether it's Boulder or Nucla, has a single vote.Brenner said the work being done by city government in Steamboat helped him gain the board seat."Steamboat has a good reputation for being pro-active about community issues," Brenner said. He added that he campaigned for increased regional outreach on the part of cities like Steamboat that are having an impact on smaller communities in their region."Steamboat used to be in its own little world, but that's not the case now. We're having an impact in south and west Routt and over the top of Rabbit Ears Pass. We're seeing the same thing in regions all over the state," Brenner said.